At least 236 women and children were subjected to various forms of violence across Bangladesh during September 2026, including 79 reported cases of rape, according to findings by the Dhaka-based Human Rights Support Society (HRSS), as reported by local media. The data, released in early October, paints a deeply troubling picture of gender-based and political violence persisting across the country.

Scale of Sexual Violence

Of the 79 rape cases documented, 47 victims were children and adolescent girls, underscoring the disproportionate vulnerability of younger females. The HRSS also recorded 13 cases of gang rape involving women and girls, alongside 49 cases of sexual abuse — of which 25 involved children.

The rights body further documented five cases in which women and girls — including three children and adolescents — were killed following rape. An additional woman died by suicide in the aftermath of a rape incident, the report noted.

Domestic Violence and Dowry Deaths

Dowry-related violence claimed the lives of six women and girls and left four others injured, with one woman also dying by suicide. Domestic violence, according to the HRSS data, resulted in 43 women killed, 27 injured, and 26 deaths by suicide — figures that Bangladesh's leading newspaper The Daily Star also reported on.

Political Violence and Mob Attacks

The report recorded 68 incidents of political violence during September, which claimed at least four lives and left more than 527 political leaders, activists, and members of the public injured. Separately, at least 9 people were killed and 32 others injured across 35 incidents of mob violence and mass beatings.

This comes amid heightened political tensions linked to upcoming local government elections, which HRSS flagged as a driver of violence during the month.

Press Freedom and Custodial Deaths

At least 35 journalists faced attacks and harassment across 20 incidents, the report stated. Of these, 16 were injured, 12 assaulted, and three threatened, while one journalist was detained under the Cyber Security Act and three others faced legal action in four separate cases.

On freedom of expression, the HRSS reported that 14 people were detained and 12 cases were filed against 26 individuals across 12 incidents, raising fresh concern over shrinking space for dissent.

Custodial deaths also featured prominently: at least 21 prisoners — including 11 convicts and 10 undertrial inmates — died in jails across the country. Three additional individuals died in incidents involving law enforcement agencies, including one allegedly following torture and two in custody, according to The Daily Star.

HRSS Warning and Broader Context

HRSS Executive Director Ijajul Islam said the human rights situation in Bangladesh remained 'deeply concerning,' citing the convergence of political violence, campus unrest, mob attacks, press suppression, and gender-based violence throughout September. He specifically flagged the targeting of individuals for their social media views as evidence of a shrinking space for free expression.

Rights organisations have increasingly drawn attention to Bangladesh's cyclical spikes in violence around election cycles, and the September data suggests the pattern is holding. How authorities respond to these findings — and whether accountability follows — will be closely watched in the weeks ahead.